Okay, gang, we seem to be a little light on new blog posts at the moment (notwithstanding Kris’ grand-slam right out of the analytical park last time at bat here in Story Country), so I’ll throw this out there for those interested in watching, not reading, something new. PULP FICTION: The Golden Age of Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Adventure. Please comment afterward as the spirit and/or jarred (or should that be “jaded”?) intellect moves you. . . .
Heigh-ho, The Golden Age!
Whoops! Did not mean to publish this early; checked in to do a light revision on the invitational text of this blog post and ascertain as to whether or not the posted link was working. Feel free to un-publish this and reschedule as necessary and/or convenient, Curtis! Mea culpa.
Love those garish covers. Let me tell you a little story.
Twenty years ago at my then job, I found one of those cheap pulp mysteries in the break room. I picked it up, looked it over, and put it down. I went back to my desk. Fifteen minutes later, it hit me, I should take that book home, remove the cover, frame it. Fabulous! Why didn’t it come to me sooner?
I ran back, the book was gone. I got on the intercom and made a company-wide plea: please please please who took that book? Can I buy it from you? Unfortunately, I was laughing so hard that no one probably understood a word I said.
Oh I wish I had that art. Gorgeous garish color. An original battered, dog-eared collectible. The real deal! A fifties-era charmer screaming her head off. The title of the thing? The Case of the Screaming Mimi.
https://i2.wp.com/writercoop.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/screaming_mimi.jpg?ssl=1&w=450
Enjoyed your anecdote re: the near-acquisition of The Screaming Mimi, Mimi!
Was this, by any chance, the book cover?
No, that’s not it. It was a full color painting, a head and shoulders shot of a frantic Hollywood-looking cutie screaming in terror. I may one day find that cover as a reproduction, but how wonderful to have an original. I rejected it because of the poor condition. Big mistake.
It may well be the same story.
What an era to write science fiction in! Every crack-brained idea to pop out of my head could have been used. Imagine writing any story you can imagine and it’s the first time anyone had written such a story. When sci-fi was new, it had to be as exciting to its writers as it was scandalous to established literary critics.
This is great, Carl. What a hoot! I remember a story about Dashiell Hammett when he submitted a story to the Black Mask that wasn’t up to his usual high standards. The editor called him on it. I think there was even a letter from the editor in the edition talking about how they had both agreed the story wasn’t ready, and some modest words from Hammett about how he had rushed the piece and he was glad the Black Mask had rejected it because it wasn’t good enough—a literary mea culpa. Of course, Hammett immediately changed the title and submitted it to some other, lesser magazine. Literary standards have their place, but not when you’ve got a bar tab to settle.
WRITERS CO-OP: A WRITER COMMUNITY FOR YOU. 
